Crown of Light
by NaniNicole
Summary: Halo knows next to nothing about Xavier and his career. In turn, Xavier knows nothing about Halo and her life yet. They are both trying to break down barriers for each other. Halo may be Xavier's crown of light. [Xavier Woods/OC]
1. Chapter 1

_*****I do not own any names you recognize as WWE Superstars. I only own the OCs.**_

Chapter One

Sitting behind the front desk of Jungle Fitness was my thing five days a week from seven in the morning to four in the afternoon. It wasn't the best thing to do but it kept my lights on and me in school. The upside is I could walk about and text as I pleased, the downside is the males that came through who thought their sweat would make them more attractive to me. When they find out what my name is, it makes them lean a little closer and grin a little harder.

My boss is a friend of my father, he's like an uncle to me and pays me probably more than he should but I'm not complaining. The place is big enough that my co-workers don't bother me unless they have a member with a question.

"Good morning there sweetheart."

I looked up from the computer to the three guests staring back at me remembering to smile.

"Sure," I replied smiling wide. "Just tell me what you guys need and I will try my best to help you gentlemen."

"We were looking to get a tour of this place. If that's not a problem."

That was another part of my job that I wasn't exactly thrilled about. Jungle is a very nice facility, two stories of state of the art machines but I hated having to repeat myself over and over about it several times a day.

Before answering them I looked around for another worker that could possibly do it. They were all busy. I agreed, telling me they could follow me.

"Say, what time does this place open close, sweetheart?"

Finally looking at the three men before me I noticed the one that had spoken to me seem to be the oldest of the bunch with dread locs. The second one was stocky, built like a body builder that doesn't overdo it and the other had deep dimples like mine and a bushy ponytail. They all shared the same mocha brown complexion.

"First things first my name is Halo." It took everything I had not to roll my eyes at them. Nicknames became my pet peeve after working here for the last three years. "And to answer your question, we're open 24/7 except on Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve to New Years Day."

"My apologies. I'm Kofi," he says gesturing to himself. "This is Xavier," he explains pointing to the guy with the bushy ponytail. "And that's E."

"E? Like the letter," I ask as we begin to walk through the archway of the facility.

"E like the letter," Kofi repeats.

I nod deciding to leave it alone. They were weird enough for me already.

"Or you can call him Big Wool," Xavier suggests.

After pointing out the downstairs snack bar to them I put my focus onto Xavier.

"And why would I do that?"

The three of them let out a chorus of 'why' for maybe a solid minute before noticing I wasn't the least bit amused by their theatrics.

Xavier cleared his throat as they laughed before answering me. He raised his left hand to the corner of his mouth as if he were about to yell.

"Because he's a heavy sweateeeeeer!"

For some reason or another that one tickled me. Probably because I did notice that E (like the letter) was sweating more than usual and we had just started the tour. And I'm quite sure it was not that warm in here.

"Funny," I tell him continuing walking down the corridor, "Down here we have our machines. There's about 500, maybe a little more. Andrew is always adding more."

"Andrew?" E asks finally speaking up.

"The owner. His name is Andrew, you guys will meet him and see him quite a bit if you guys decide to go with the membership."

I took them through the maze of machines, to the three indoor basketball hoops and the locker rooms on the first floor. Then the outdoor courts and pool before taking them upstairs. They laughed and made jokes along the way, I admit they were a lot funnier than most of the other guys I've given tours to.

"If you guys have kids we have a clubhouse that you can check them into while you work out. If you don't then we can skip this area." I stood in front of the door to the clubhouse waiting on an answer from one of them.

"Well, we don't," E said gesturing between himself and Xavier.

Kofi raised his hand slightly telling me had a son and would like to see the area. Opening the door, I heard gasps behind me. As most people do. The clubhouse is two stories but the entrance is on the second floor. It's as big as Chuck E. Cheese, if not bigger but very well organized.

"So, say someone without children wanted to come and enjoy this part of the facility. Would that be acceptable?"

With a squint of my eyes, I stared E down trying not to laugh at the smirks he and Xavier had on their faces.

"Um, no. The adults aren't allowed in here with the children unless they're parents."

Kofi poked fun at the other two, having a good laugh. I cut in wanting to get back to the front desk, no matter how funny they were I still wanted to get this tour over.

"But we do have a game center for adults down the hall," I explain ushering them out of the clubhouse, "It has arcade games and multiple consoles."

"Consoles as in what exactly?"

Xavier seemed to perk up hearing about the center. He was smiling way more than he had the entire tour.

"I honestly don't know what's what in there. I'm not really into games," I tell him softly, "I could show you though. Maybe find you another employee that does."

"No, no. You're fine, you can show us though."

Getting to the open room with more than 20 or 25 games not including doubles. The room was empty considering it was only thirty minutes before noon so I didn't bother to follow behind them when they started looking around. The room was a magnet for the members who loved gaming. Probably more than the pools.

"This room here," Kofi called out standing beside the private room.

"That is a private gaming room. There are two others on the other side of the room. All the consoles that are out here are inside the rooms as well."

"So how do they work? Are they first come, first serve?" Xavier asked meeting Kofi beside the room.

"No, you can book them at any time with a twelve-hour time limit per room. We rarely have people do it because there are so many out in the open," I tell them cutting on the lights in the room, "But we get gamer groups sometimes who like to relax in peace between workouts."

"I don't know about these two, Halo but I'm in. You almost loss me 'cause you don't like games," Xavier said with a smile, "But this room redeemed you."

"This room and not the workout equipment?"

"Oh, she's funny. I like her," E said wiping his forehead, "I'm in. What about you, Kof?"

He agreed still looking around the room at the games on the wall.

"Great so let's get back downstairs and do the paperwork. It's really simple."

Even though they were a little weird to me at first they turned out okay. Not like the other male members here at Jungle. Like a breath of fresh air. Once we got back to the desk I saw that the other girl who works alongside me helping guests, I spoke as I passed her to get the paperwork for the new members. I sat them at a table so we could go through it all together.

"The first page is just basic information about you guys, nothing major. The second is asking about employment and contact information."

I sat waiting for them to finish the pages and pass them to me for their folders, checking them to make sure nothing was missed. When they passed me their second pages, I looked it over for a second.

"Tell me to mind my business but what is this company that you guys work for?"

"World Wrestling Entertainment." Kofi tells me looking down at the third page.

"Again, tell me to mind my business. What is that?"

All their heads popped up simultaneously with confused looks. They all looked at each other then back to me. E laughed a little to himself. "I knew you were funny. You can't be serious right now."

They all laughed but I continued giving them a blank stare to show them that I'm serious with my question. "She's serious guys," Kofi said cutting their laughter short, "You've never seen Monday Night Raw? Or Smackdown? We're wrestlers."

"Never seen it. Sorry," I tell them with the sincerest smile, "So it keeps you in the Orlando area?"

"First you don't know about games now you don't know about the WWE Tag Team Champions, The New Day. For shame. But yes," he confirmed, "It does."

They looked sort of offended with a hint of a smile on their lips. It was funny to me because I really had no idea what they were talking about.

"I'm sorry, Xavier. I didn't mean to offend."

After they got through the paperwork, I took them back to the front to get them their cards and sign Xavier up for the private game room for a few weekends. As they were leaving out, I followed behind to take my break.

"This really is a nice facility," E joked, "They walk you to your car and everything."

"Funny. I'm going on break actually but you guys enjoy your wrestling and what not."

Branching off from them I went to my car to go to my apartment down the street for my break and relax. One of the perks of this job is having my apartment so close. It was only five minutes away, eight with heavy traffic.

The whole way there the new member with the bushy ponytail was on my mind. Even though I had no idea what WWE is he was interesting to me. Well they all were, he just stuck out a little more. Something about him got me but I would keep that to myself.

Once I was home I put some leftover spaghetti in the microwave and googled the guys. Starting with Xavier. The very first video I found was of him, Kofi and E inside a ring with some really tall guy and a shorter guy with crazy blonde hair. They were about to fight over a trombone named Frannie, I think they said. It was weird for sure but funny.

I made a note to mention it to them the next time I see them.


	2. Chapter 2

_*****I do not own any names you recognize as WWE Superstars. I only own the OCs.**_

Chapter Two

By the time my break was over, I was pretty much educated on the whole New Day and wrestling thing. It was interesting to watch. As I looked through the comments on the YouTube videos, I realized how snarky and rude some of the male fan base was to the kids and women. They thought the women and kids were biased, especially the women, only watching for the bright colors and attractive male wrestlers. It was interesting to see how choreographed their matches are, it looked like it takes lots of work. More work than I would even thinking about doing.

Arriving back to work, I was welcomed by my front desk mate and best friend, Nona, with her many questions. She had been looking through the new member paperwork I had in my folder. And she clearly knew a lot about their business, much more than I did.

"Why didn't you tell me the New Day was in here?" She asked in a harsh whisper.

"Because I had no idea who they were, Nona. And because it doesn't matter," I told her filing the paperwork.

"It does matter, Hae. You know how much I love Seth Rollins."

I rolled my eyes trying to ignore her there was no way I was feeding into her weird obsession. Now I would give it to her, Seth is attractive but that's where it stops.

"Come on. Don't ignore me."

Humming, I made it clear to her that I was intent on ignoring her. She had work to do that she can't possibly do if she's in my business.

"Okay, fine. But at least tell me how it went, Halo."

"It went pretty good. The one with the bushy ponytail was very excited about the game room here which I didn't get but whatever. The big one sweated a lot."

She stared at me wide eyed, like a deer caught in headlights. My friend clearly needed some type of help. Or I needed new friends.

The rest of our shift went by without incident. She didn't ask me anything else about their visit, only shoved Instagram and Twitter pictures of wrestlers in my face the whole time. Humoring her was what I had done since I met her when I started working here two years ago. It may be strange to most that I haven't seen wrestling given her obsession but I didn't indulge. Not my thing at all.

As I was giving a tour of the facility for the fifth time today I was paged over the intercom system to come back to the front desk. Luck must have been on my side, the family I was showing around had bratty pre-teen twins and a teenager with horrible attitudes. They felt like they had to say something smart about everything I said. When I got downstairs I saw Nona staring at me with a big smile and red cheeks leaving me very confused.

"If you called me because you have to pee, I'm gonna shove a weight down your throat."

"No, the new members from earlier," she said gesturing behind her, "They're back."

Looking around her I waved politely before moving her out of the way.

"Can I help you guys?"

Kofi looked around a few times before bringing his attention back to me. "Yeah, um, we were supposed to get our cards earlier."

"But we didn't," E finished.

"Right, sorry," I told them, "Just come over to my side of the desk and I'll get them for you guys."

Nona was still in the same spot I'd left her in, mouth slightly ajar and a look of shock. I had come up with a good plan in my head to get her halfway to what she was reaching for earlier.

"Okay so, Kofi, Xavier and E, like the letter. Or would you prefer Big Wool?" I asked handing them their large and key ring cards with a smile. It earned a small laugh from them. "Oh and Xavier?"

"Yeah?"

"Does Frannie need a card or are you two gonna share?" I asked gesturing my hands towards his card.

"Oh, oh. She got jokes!"

Kofi wagged his finger in my direction still laughing. "And you said you didn't know about us. You got us!"

Xavier had yet to say anything, he just watched me with a modest smile. His dimples look adorable from where I was standing.

"I don't know about you guys. I just watched a few videos while I was on my break earlier is all," I shrugged leaning on the higher part of the desk. "But what I do know is my friend is fangirling over there. So, if you guys don't mind."

"What's your friend's name," E asked politely.

After telling them her name, E and Kofi went over to her and began a conversation with her. I watched with delight seeing her face light up. It was good to see that she didn't freeze up, drool or ramble. She was herself and for that I was happy for her. Xavier had yet to move though, he stood in his same spot since I'd made the joke.

"Did you need something, Xavier? I'll be happy to help you out."

"Feel free to say no to what I'm about to ask you. Do you think I could get your number?"

That was a question I hear all day long. The most annoying question anyone can ask me now. No matter how cute his dimples are. In my mind, I could already hear Nona yelling at me for not giving it to him.

"You could say no if you don't feel comfortable but," he paused to flash his smile, "I am a nice guy once you get to know me."

With a roll of my eyes I held out my hand for his phone which he gave me after pulling up the new contact page. I saved my number then handed it back telling him to text so I would have his number. I wondered if I would regret giving it to him, if I did I guess I could always block his number or change mine.

Xavier and I had been texting back and forth for the last three weeks every day when he wasn't busy with work. She had yet to tell Nona about simply because she wanted to keep it to herself until she was sure of what was actually happening. Plus, she didn't want to get the hopes of her friend up about the whole thing.

He'd asked this morning if he could call me once they had gotten to the next town. I honestly didn't know of it was a good idea but it beat listening to Nona talk my ear off about something wrestling related. While I waited for him to call I thought about the good time I have texting him. Xavier seems a good guy as he said, funny too. Not a lot of people were able to make me laugh but he was one. Even his cornier jokes gave me a little tickle. My phone rung loudly snatching me from my thoughts.

"Hey, X. I guess you guys made it to Phoenix."

"Ye-Yeah, about an hour ago. I didn't wake you, did I?"

His voice was a lot deeper on the phone than I expected. It had caught me off guard, I was strangely more attracted to him than I was before.

"It's only one on the morning, X. You should be sleep though, I'm sure you're tired."

"Kinda but Kofi wants to play Freddy's so I'm waiting for him to play."

"And here I thought I was the reason you're staying awake," I joked softly.

"No I wanted to talk to you to, Halo. It's just I thought it was obvious that I wanted to talk to you," he explained without wavering, "Was it not obvious?"

"You have a nice phone voice. It's soothing."

It was not very often that I gave men compliments, there was no need to stroke their egos more than they did themselves.

He laughed directly into the phone making me smile think about his dimples. "Are you trying to tell me I'm putting you to sleep, Halo?"

"Nope. You're making me anything but sleepy."

Instead of hearing Xavier's voice, I heard Kofi, E and someone else's voice in the background talking to him. He whispered for me to hold on while he talked. Idly, I sat on my bed listening to their conversation about their plans. At one point they had gotten extremely loud but were calmed by Kofi reminding them about their neighbors in the hotel.

"Still there?" He asked softly.

"Is who still there," E asked loudly.

"I'm talking to my friend, E. If she's still there that is."

"Yeah, I'm here, X. You can call me back if you need to, I don't want to crowd you and your friends."

"No, I was gonna suggest we video call."

I furrowed my brows confused. "And why would we do that, X? You asked to talk on the phone not video chat."

"Well, because I uh I thought it would be, ya know," he trailed off, "Easier. But if you don't want to that's totally fine too."

"I was playing, silly. Calm your nerves but you'll have to Skype me. I don't have an iPhone, I have a galaxy."

"Of course. Text your name to me and I'll call you," he said letting out a sigh of relief.

As we were getting off the phone I could hear them giving Xavier a hard time about being on the phone. Teasing him about having a crush and what not. I thought it was funny, hopefully he doesn't really have one on me. He barely knows me.

I cut my laptop on just in time for Xavier's call, when I answered I was face to face with E and some other guy I didn't recognize. Bashfully, I waved at them becoming a little self-conscious of my hair and clothes, or lack thereof. I was dressed for bed essentially but I would've thrown a shirt over my sports bra had I known they all could see me.

"It's the girl with the jokes from Jungle, Kof. Look!"

E was too much and too loud especially for it to be so late. He was funny anyway so I wasn't going to complain. Kofi came into view of the camera to wave then disappeared.

"How come you didn't tell us this was who you were talking to," E asked loudly.

"Get away from my computer, E. She wants to talk to me, not you."

"Is this his girlfriend? Didn't know you had girlfriend," the stranger asked clearly clueless.

"Her name is Halo," Xavier said coming into view. He pushed E out of the way so he could sit and talk to me. "Halo, this is Tyler. Tyler, this is Halo."

"Well, aren't you pretty? Too pretty for Woods, here."

The room erupted in laughter, Xavier's mocking smile made me laugh a little more than I should have. It was actually good to see his face after it's been so long. Nice to put the face back to the texts or however that saying goes.

Remembering that I was under dressed I signaled for his attention.

"What's up?" He asked moving his eyes back to me.

"Hold on for a second, I'll be back."

"Where ya going?" E yelled in the background.

"To put a shirt on," I laughed, "I didn't know the company could see me."

Tyler raised a brow looking between the two of us. "Oh, so you wore that so Woods could see you?"

"Leave her alone, Ty. Go over there so I can talk to her."

Since they moved I didn't feel the need to cover up anymore.

Xavier and I continued our conversation while he and his friends played their game. When we weren't talking because his game had gotten serious I took that chance to look at him and see him interact with his friends. It was funny to see him get so worked up with a game he wasn't even involved with.

"Can I ask you something, X?"

The room suddenly got quiet after the question left my lips. He slowly brought his gaze to me with a small smile. I could hear E in the background teasing again only to be hushed by Kofi and Tyler.

"Go back to your game, gentlemen," he told them putting his headphones on and plugging them in. "Go ahead, no one can hear you."

"Clearly, Xavier. But I was thinking that maybe," I trailed off.

I had made the mistake of looking at him. He stared intently at me, as if he was actually focusing on me. It made me nervous. As if he noticed my discomfort he smiled graciously.

"Is something wrong?" He asked quietly ignoring his friends calling out to him.

"No, um, I got nervous for a second. Just don't worry about it, nevermind."

"No, no," he said loudly then cleared his throat. "Ask me, please. I want to hear it, Hae."

I shook my head no longer interested in asking. Too many people around him was making me anxious. That and the way he was watching me.

"Would it make you feel better if I went somewhere by myself? I don't ever want you to be uncomfortable, especially not around me, Halo."

Why did he have to be so damn cute? With his dimples, his cute smile and his caring personality. I hated him a little in that moment because even though I was anxious he made me feel like it was okay. No one had done that for me, no male that is, except my dad.

Xavier didn't wait for me to answer him. He picked up his laptop, told his friends that he would be back and stepped out of the suite's bedroom into the living room area. "Is this okay or do I need to go in the other bedroom?"

"It's fine, X," I mumbled softly.

"You're nervous."

It was as if this man was sitting right next to me and could feel the anxiousness radiating off of me. Nodding was the only thing I could do, I was afraid my voice would betray me if I spoke. Again, he gave me a smile. I'm surprised his cheeks don't hurt.

"It's alright. No one can hear you, no one can see you. Except me that is but I'm your boy and I'm listening."

"Well, I was gonna ask if you weren't too busy—," my voice started to shake. In this moment I hated myself for becoming this ball of nerves. This was never me, not about a man that is. A test maybe but a man never.

X never rushed me or looked at me with impatience he simply waited for me to finish my thought.

"It's stupid but I was thinking that it'd be cool to um—."

"You wanna go out with me, Hae?"

"Yeah," I nodded. "I was kinda hoping to hang out with you. Your funny and nice. I'm not into video games but I'm sure we could find something else to talk about. Unless you don't want to, if you don't that's cool too."

"Actually, we're gonna be in Orlando for Raw in a couple of days so that would be great," he explained with a smile, "You and your friend could come see the show. Get some backstage action."

A smile crept up onto my face and all my nervous energy went away. That was a great plan, Nona would love that especially if it means she gets to meet Seth. It'll be a great surprise for her.

"Sounds good, X."

"Great. And next time don't be nervous to tell me what you want, I have no problem doing what I can to make you happy, Hae."

Choosing to ignore the underlying meaning of his words, I told him I was tired so he could get back to his friends and so I could regain my composure. Xavier had really taken a lot out of me and he clearly had no idea.


	3. Chapter 3

_Chapter Three_

Xavier had asked me to bring Nona and come to the arena a few hours before the show was set to start. He wanted to have a little time with us since he would be sore and tired afterwards. Nona was more excited than I had ever seen her in our friendship. I, on the other hand, couldn't get to that level of excitement.

"How can you not be excited about this, Hae?"

"No but by the grip on you've got on my arm you are," I said playfully snatching away.

Nona mumbled an apology as she let go of my arm. Since the blood was back flowing through my arm properly I went back to looking around the backstage area for Xavier where eh said he would wait for me.

Nona and I passed the people, I assumed, were tech people asking where Xavier was but only got crazy looks. It was getting to me a little, I could feel myself becoming more and more agitated as we walked.

"Let's ask Becky Lynch," Nona suggested pointing to a red headed woman in front of us.

"You just want to talk to her because you're a fan of hers."

"Yes and because I know she would know. But," Nona sung out, "If you want to keep walking in circles and getting crazy stares then by all means."

With a huff, I went up to the red headed woman and politely tapped her on her shoulder. She spun around with a confused yet happy face.

"What can I do for ya?" She asked in a thick accent.

"Um, we're looking for X, dang it," I paused catching myself, "I mean Xavier. He said he'd be waiting but I don't see him anywhere."

"I see. I don't know where he is but I'm sure I can find someone who does though, lass."

We followed her, well Nona walked beside her talking her ear off. I ignored them both sending another text to Xavier asking him where he was. It was incredibly rude for him to ask me to come here, tell me he would meet me and just not be there. I planned on telling him just that when I finally found him.

"Oh, you're Woods' girlfriend. I remember you."

Looking up I saw the guy Tyler I met while video calling with Xavier days ago. He was very pretty in person. Men are usually handsome or good looking but he wasn't. He was just a very pretty man. "Are ya really," Becky asked looking between Tyler and I. "No, I'm not" I tried really hard not to roll my eyes, not at them just at the mention on Xavier. He was not my boyfriend and wouldn't ever be if he pulled stuff like this again. "Sure, she is. He left while we were gaming," Tyler said smirking, "She's definitely his."

"Well, darlin' Tyler will get you guys to your man."

Before I could correct her she had walked off leaving me with Tyler and Nona, who looked to be spaced out. Tyler gestured to her with a questioning look. "This is my bestie, Nona and she is clearly a fan of yours."

"Not you?" He joked.

"Sorry, I have no clue who you are."

"Okay, ouch. I guess I'll be showing Nona while you lag behind us," he joked offering his arm to my bestie. She took it after giving me a shocked, excited face. Hopefully she was enjoying this and I hope that she meets everyone she wants because it will not happen again if I have anything to do with it. Tyler knocked on a door with loud laughing and yelling emanating from it, opening it for us when his knocks were obliged.

With all the noise I expected to see more than the four people inside it. E and Kofi were playing a fighting game with Xavier and another man, that I recognized from a picture, sat behind them observing. They all briefly turned their heads to see who was coming in. Kofi offered a smile then went back to the screen while E threw up one of his hands and yelling my name and Nona's out. "You left these poor women out there alone, Woods. For shame," Tyler said in mock disgust. "Who is this," the unknown man asked. "That," E said pointing to Nona, "is Nona. And the other is a girl who don't know nothing about nothing." I pushed E playfully as we all laughed. I had to give it to him he is pretty funny. "Shut up, Wool. That's Halo, Woods' friend." Kofi added leaning closer to the screen. Tyler raised his hand interrupting, "You mean girlfriend."

Not resisting it anymore I rolled my eyes in Xavier's direction, hoping he saw it. I wanted him to know how upset I was. I stuck my hand out to the man. "I'm Halo, that's Nona. She probably knows who you are but I do not," I said as he shook it, "So you are who?"

He cleared his throat clearly caught off guard. "Jimmy."

I nodded switching my focus from this Jimmy person to Xavier, who just stared at me with a grin. My face was less than happy; I could feel the frown lines forming. "I'm sorry, Hae. But I am glad you're here." He tried to hug me but my hand on his chest stopped him. He grabbed my hand leading me to a far corner of them the room, probably away from the camera that was recording them play. "Something wrong." He asked quietly. "Seriously, X? Clearly there is something wrong, you'd have to be stupid to think otherwise."

Taking a step back, Xavier glanced back at his friends and mine then back at me with an unreadable expression. I huffed upset that he wasn't getting it. "You invite me here, tell me you're gonna meet me then you don't come. We've been here for almost two hours, looking for you because you weren't where you said you were going to be," I folded my arms for emphasis, "I texted and texted but you didn't answer. If you were too busy then I should've stayed at home."

"It's my fault. I lost track of time and I turn my phone on its face and put it on silent when I'm recording for my channel." As if he was testing the waters he took a step closer to me, letting his hand rest on top of one of mines. Warmth spread through me like a wildfire under his touch. It was nice to see him, I thought about how happy on the inside I was to see him. "Forgive me," he asked softly.

"Fine. But there will be no next time. You tell me you're gonna do something then you do it. Got it?"

He nodded opening up his arms for me to hug him. As much as I thought against it I allowed him to pull me into his body. It felt good next to mine, firm yet soft. And he smelled good on top of that. We stood like that probably longer than we should have, I didn't want to let go and he didn't seem like he wanted to either. This was all too soon for me. Too much on me.

"Wanna come watch? You can be on my channel."

"I look a mess, X. No, I don't wanna be on your channel." I pointed to my messy bun and my face for emphasis. "I don't even have on make up."

"You look beautiful," he said waving me off, "Plus when I met you, you didn't have make up on and I still got your number."

Against my better judgement I let him drag me back over to the others. Nona looked like she was getting along fine with them. Her inner fangirl must have needed some rest. Xavier gave me his seat choosing to lean his frame onto mine, his hands holding onto the chair on each side of my thighs.

After the show was over, Kofi suggested we get something to eat. They didn't have tapings tomorrow so they didn't mind staying out later. Since it was so late when we finally found a place that was open we had to get our food to go.

"So, whose place is it gonna be," E asked.

We stood in front of the restaurant with our bags, trying to find our next move. Nona and I rode in my car with E, Kofi, Xavier and Tyler in their rental.

"We could go to the hotel."

Kofi's suggestion was okay with everyone else except me. I didn't want to be in their comfort zone, I wanted to be in mine just in case. I made the suggestion then told X I would text him my address.

As I drove home, I could feel Nona looking at me. "Is there a reason you're looking at me?"

"You like him, huh?"

I scoffed at her suggestion. I don't know him, it's been like a month and some change and that's not long enough for me to decide whether I liked him or not.

"Nope."

"It's okay of you do. He's nice and nice looking," she joked, "It's a win win."

The vibe through the apartment was very chill. Everyone was getting along. Nona was getting out her fangirling about Seth without being or sounding creepy. It was everything I could've asked for, for her.

"You wanna go talk? I'm sure E and Kof can keep Nona entertained," X whispered near my ear.

"And why would I want to talk to you, Mr. Woods?"

He bit his lip then ran his tongue over the bite. "Okay, let me rephrase. I want to spend some time with you and talk."

Looking over at Nona, I thought to say something but she was so deep into their conversation I realized she wouldn't have paid me any attention. Slipping off was the best idea. X grabbed my hand pulling me up from my seat then allowed me to lead him the rest of the way. I lead him to my bedroom, it was too humid for outside and the kitchen was too close to the others.

"So this is where you dream about me?" He asked looking around.

"Nope. This is where I dream about Tyler. He's absolutely gorgeous," I joked plopping down on the bed.

X got on the bed next to me, both of us lying on our side face to face. Close enough that our noses were almost touching. His hand found its way to my hips, caressing the bit of exposed skin. Sure I could say I don't like it but that would be a lie on my part. His touch was everything to me right now.

"The chill bumps you've got say otherwise."

Realizing the closeness was too much of a connection for me, I shifted so his hand would fall off of me and I could move my gaze from his. I was starting to become way too caught up in him, way too soon.

"Why do you do that," he asked bringing his hand to my face.

"Do what, X?"

"Move away from me or change the subject so you don't have to look at me? I've made it very clear that I like you," he explained rubbing his thumb where my dimple would be. "And you've tried to act like the feeling isn't mutual but I know it is."

I rolled my eyes shifting to sit indian style on my bed. Him and I needed space, whenever he got like this it wasn't wise for me to be too close for I might want to touch him. "Not that you're right or anything. How do you know that?"

"I have a PhD in psychology, Halo. I think I'm pretty good at ready people." Xavier was never one to hide his intelligence which I didn't mind hearing about. Except when he tried to doctor me. "But since you asked," he said sitting up next to me, "You blush when I tell you how pretty you are. You smile much harder when you're talking to me over anyone else. A shiver runs through you when I touch you, I can feel it along with the goosebumps."

"Whatever, X. That's a coincidence it doesn't mean I want you."

He raised a brow, giving me a small smirk. "It doesn't, huh? Well answer me this. Why were you so upset when you couldn't find me? Why were you so upset because you thought I had blown you off, Hae?"

There was nothing that I could say, he had me there. Did I like the way I felt? Yes. Did I understand it? No. Going through these emotions were not my cup of tea. Falling for someone so hard that you forget about yourself. Having to now consider another person's feelings and making choices that way because what you want no longer matters.

"If you're scared then say that. You trying to push the feelings away isn't going to help either of us. I know you don't get to see me as much as you would want but we can make this work. As long as you let me in, tell me what you're thinking."

Before either of us could say anything else, there was a knock on my bedroom door followed by Kofi poking his head in. "Hey, uh, we're heading out. Nona has work and you know we've got a flight in the morning, Woods. Are you staying? We can pick you up in the morning, I can pack your stuff for you." Xavier gave me a long, hard look then looked to Kofi slightly shaking his head making my heart dropped. I didn't think it would matter that much to me. "I'll be out in a second just let me finish up here." Kofi gave as strange look before agreeing and closing the door. I sighed loudly pulling at a loose string on my shirt. "I will be back in Orlando in a week and I want you to use that time to do some thinking, maybe talk to Nona or something. Figure out what you want," he said softly, "I won't call or text you and interrupt your thinking. When I get back though, I want to know if you want this or not."

My heart dropped again when he said he wouldn't contact me. It was caring me how not hearing from him for a week was bothering me.

"Can I call you though, X?" I asked picking a piece of lint from his hair.

He shook his head. "No. You need to think, Halo. I might try to coerce you and I don't want to do that, I want you to want me on your own."

"What if I know I want you now?"

"You're only saying that because of the stipulation I gave you. Take some time seriously. I'll be missing you as much as you will miss me, beautiful."

We both stood from the bed, he held both of my hands on his giving me a big smile showcasing his white teeth and deep dimples that matched mine. Going one week without talking to him would be weird and uncomfortable for me. I talked to him all day except when he had matches or appearances.

"I'll miss you, X." I whispered. He pulled me into to his chest, hugging my body tightly into his. I couldn't help but snuggle up into his chest inhaling his amazing scent.

"I'll miss you, too. Look at me," he demanded softy. Pulling away from his chest, I looked up into his dark eyes waiting to hear what he had to say. "One week and I want your answer."

"I got it, X."

"I know I said I didn't want to coerce you but I do want to leave you with something."

Before I could ask what it was, I felt his lips on mine. His warm lips felt soft and plush against mine. He lingered against my lips for a few seconds longer then pulled away then kissed my forehead. "See you soon, Hae." He dropped my hands and left the room. I watched him leave trying to will my feet to move but I was stuck there until I heard the door close.

Racing to the front of my place I realized I was too late the guys were gone. Nona was gathering her stuff up when I reached the living room. "Hey, everything alright? Xavier looked a little funny." I nodded wanting to be by myself for the rest of the night. Everything Xavier said was weighing me down. I know his intentions were not to force me into giving in to my feelings but that's what was happening. I wanted Xavier in my life but I don't want to set myself up for failure with him.


End file.
